##ciekawa_strona##
Compare Syria (2002) - Libya (2006)
Compare Syria (2002) z Libya (2006)
| Syria (2002) | Libya (2006) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 14 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Hasakah, Al Ladhiqiyah, Al Qunaytirah, Ar Raqqah, As Suwayda', Dar'a, Dayr az Zawr, Dimashq, Halab, Hamah, Hims, Idlib, Rif Dimashq, Tartus | 25 municipalities (baladiyat, singular - baladiyah); Ajdabiya, Al 'Aziziyah, Al Fatih, Al Jabal al Akhdar, Al Jufrah, Al Khums, Al Kufrah, An Nuqat al Khams, Ash Shati', Awbari, Az Zawiyah, Banghazi, Darnah, Ghadamis, Gharyan, Misratah, Murzuq, Sabha, Sawfajjin, Surt, Tarabulus, Tarhunah, Tubruq, Yafran, Zlitan; note - the 25 municipalities may have been replaced by 13 regions |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 39.3% (male 3,467,267; female 3,264,639)
15-64 years: 57.5% (male 5,052,841; female 4,817,662) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 267,803; female 285,602) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 33.6% (male 1,012,748/female 969,978)
15-64 years: 62.2% (male 1,891,643/female 1,778,621) 65 years and over: 4.2% (male 121,566/female 126,198) (2006 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, cotton, lentils, chickpeas, olives, sugar beets; beef, mutton, eggs, poultry, milk | wheat, barley, olives, dates, citrus, vegetables, peanuts, soybeans; cattle |
| Airports | 99 (2001) | 141 (2006) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 24
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 60
over 3,047 m: 23 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 23 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 68
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 11 under 914 m: 55 (2002) |
total: 81
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 15 914 to 1,523 m: 41 under 914 m: 18 (2006) |
| Area | total: 185,180 sq km
land: 184,050 sq km water: 1,130 sq km note: includes 1,295 sq km of Israeli-occupied territory |
total: 1,759,540 sq km
land: 1,759,540 sq km water: 0 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than North Dakota | slightly larger than Alaska |
| Background | Following the breakup of the Ottoman Empire during World War I, Syria was administered by the French until independence in 1946. In the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, Syria lost the Golan Heights to Israel. Since 1976, Syrian troops have been stationed in Lebanon, ostensibly in a peacekeeping capacity. In recent years, Syria and Israel have held occasional peace talks over the return of the Golan Heights. | The Italians supplanted the Ottoman Turks from the area around Tripoli in 1911 and did not reliquish their hold until 1943 when defeated in World War II. Libya then passed to UN administration and achieved independence in 1951. Following a 1969 military coup, Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI began to espouse his own political system, the Third Universal Theory. The system is a combination of socialism and Islam derived in part from tribal practices and is supposed to be implemented by the Libyan people themselves in a unique form of "direct democracy." QADHAFI has always seen himself as a revolutionary and visionary leader. He used oil funds during the 1970s and 1980s to promote his ideology outside Libya, supporting subversives and terrorists abroad to hasten the end of Marxism and capitalism. In addition, beginning in 1973, he engaged in military operations in northern Chad's Aozou Strip - to gain access to minerals and to use as a base of influence in Chadian politics - but was forced to retreat in 1987. UN sanctions in 1992 isolated QADHAFI politically following the downing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Libyan support for terrorism appeared to have decreased after the imposition of sanctions. During the 1990s, QADHAFI also began to rebuild his relationships with Europe. UN sanctions were suspended in April 1999 and finally lifted in September 2003 after Libya resolved the Lockerbie case. In December 2003, Libya announced that it had agreed to reveal and end its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction, and QADHAFI has made significant strides in normalizing relations with western nations since then. He has received various Western European leaders as well as many working-level and commercial delegations, and made his first trip to Western Europe in 15 years when he traveled to Brussels in April 2004. QADHAFI also finally resolved in 2004 several outstanding cases against his government for terrorist activities in the 1980s by compensating the families of victims of the UTA and La Belle disco bombings. |
| Birth rate | 30.11 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 26.49 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $5 billion
expenditures: $7 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $25.34 billion
expenditures: $15.47 billion; including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2005 est.) |
| Capital | Damascus | name: Tripoli
geographic coordinates: 32 54 N, 13 11 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Climate | mostly desert; hot, dry, sunny summers (June to August) and mild, rainy winters (December to February) along coast; cold weather with snow or sleet periodically in Damascus | Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior |
| Coastline | 193 km | 1,770 km |
| Constitution | 13 March 1973 | 11 December 1969; amended 2 March 1977 |
| Country name | conventional long form: Syrian Arab Republic
conventional short form: Syria local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Arabiyah as Suriyah local short form: Suriyah former: United Arab Republic (with Egypt) |
conventional long form: Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
conventional short form: Libya local long form: Al Jumahiriyah al Arabiyah al Libiyah ash Shabiyah al Ishtirakiyah al Uzma local short form: none |
| Currency | Syrian pound (SYP) | - |
| Death rate | 5.12 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 3.48 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Debt - external | $22 billion (2001 est.) | $4.267 billion (2005 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Theodore H. KATTOUF
embassy: Abou Roumaneh, Al-Mansur Street, No. 2, Damascus mailing address: P. O. Box 29, Damascus telephone: [963] (11) 333-1342 FAX: [963] (11) 331-9678 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad Interim Gregory L. BERRY
embassy: Corinthia Bab Africa Hotel, Souq At-Tlat Al-Qadim, Tripoli mailing address: US Embassy, 8850 Tripoli Place, Washington, DC 20521-8850 telephone: [218] 21-335-1848 |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rustum al-ZU'BI
chancery: 2215 Wyoming Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6313 FAX: [1] (202) 234-9548 |
chief of mission: ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Ali AUJALI
chancery: 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Suite 705, Washington, DC 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 944-9601 FAX: [1] (202) 944-9060 |
| Disputes - international | Golan Heights is Israeli-occupied; dispute with upstream riparian Turkey over Turkish water development plans for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; Syrian troops in northern, central, and eastern Lebanon since October 1976; Turkey is quick to rebuff any perceived Syrian claim to Hatay province | Libya has claimed more than 32,000 sq km in southeastern Algeria and about 25,000 sq km in Niger in currently dormant disputes; various Chadian rebels from the Aozou region reside in southern Libya |
| Economic aid - recipient | $199 million (1997 est.) | ODA, $4.4 million (2002) |
| Economy - overview | Syria's predominantly statist economy has been growing slower than its 2.5% annual population growth rate, causing a persistent decline in per capita GDP. President Bashar AL-ASAD has made little progress on the economic front after one year in office, but does appear willing to permit a gradual strengthening of the private sector. His most obvious accomplishment to this end was the recent passage of legislation allowing private banks to operate in Syria, although a private banking sector will take years and further government cooperation to develop. ASAD's recent cabinet reshuffle may improve his chances of implementing further growth-oriented policies, although external factors such as the international war on terrorism, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and downturn in oil prices could weaken the foreign investment and government revenues Syria needs to flourish. A long-run economic constraint is the pressure on water supplies caused by rapid population growth, industrial expansion, and increased water pollution. | The Libyan economy depends primarily upon revenues from the oil sector, which contribute about 95% of export earnings, about one-quarter of GDP, and 60% of public sector wages. Substantial revenues from the energy sector coupled with a small population give Libya one of the highest per capita GDPs in Africa, but little of this income flows down to the lower orders of society. Libyan officials in the past four years have made progress on economic reforms as part of a broader campaign to reintegrate the country into the international fold. This effort picked up steam after UN sanctions were lifted in September 2003 and as Libya announced that it would abandon programs to build weapons of mass destruction in December 2003. Almost all US unilateral sanctions against Libya were removed in April 2004, helping Libya attract more foreign direct investment, mostly in the energy sector. Libya faces a long road ahead in liberalizing the socialist-oriented economy, but initial steps - including applying for WTO membership, reducing some subsidies, and announcing plans for privatization - are laying the groundwork for a transition to a more market-based economy. The non-oil manufacturing and construction sectors, which account for about 20% of GDP, have expanded from processing mostly agricultural products to include the production of petrochemicals, iron, steel, and aluminum. Climatic conditions and poor soils severely limit agricultural output, and Libya imports about 75% of its food. |
| Electricity - consumption | 17.671 billion kWh (2000) | 13.39 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - exports | 650 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production | 19.7 billion kWh (2000) | 14.4 billion kWh (2003) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 64%
hydro: 36% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: unnamed location near Lake Tiberias -200 m
highest point: Mount Hermon 2,814 m |
lowest point: Sabkhat Ghuzayyil -47 m
highest point: Bikku Bitti 2,267 m |
| Environment - current issues | deforestation; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification; water pollution from raw sewage and petroleum refining wastes; inadequate potable water | desertification; very limited natural fresh water resources; the Great Manmade River Project, the largest water development scheme in the world, is being built to bring water from large aquifers under the Sahara to coastal cities |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 90.3%, Kurds, Armenians, and other 9.7% | Berber and Arab 97%, Greeks, Maltese, Italians, Egyptians, Pakistanis, Turks, Indians, Tunisians |
| Exchange rates | Syrian pounds per US dollar - 51 (December 2001), 46 (2000), 46 (1998), 41.9 (January 1997) | Libyan dinars per US dollar - 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004), 1.2929 (2003), 1.2707 (2002), 0.6051 (2001) |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Bashar al-ASAD (since 17 July 2000); Vice Presidents Abd al-Halim ibn Said KHADDAM (since 11 March 1984) and Muhammad Zuhayr MASHARIQA (since 11 March 1984)
head of government: Prime Minister Muhammad Mustafa MIRU (since 13 March 2000), Deputy Prime Ministers Lt. Gen. Mustafa TALAS (since 11 March 1984), Farouk al-SHARA (since 13 December 2001), Dr. Muhammad al-HUSAYN (since 13 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; referendum/election last held 10 July 2000 - after the death of President Hafez al-ASAD, father of Bashar al-ASAD - (next to be held NA 2007); vice presidents appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Bashar al-ASAD elected president; percent of vote - Bashar al-ASAD 97.29% note: Hafiz al-ASAD died on 10 June 2000; on 20 June 2000, the Ba'th Party nominated Bashar al-ASAD for president and presented his name to the People's Council on 25 June 2000 |
chief of state: Revolutionary Leader Col. Muammar Abu Minyar al-QADHAFI (since 1 September 1969); note - holds no official title, but is de facto chief of state
head of government: Secretary of the General People's Committee (Prime Minister) al-Baghdadi Ali al-MAHMUDI (since 5 March 2006) cabinet: General People's Committee established by the General People's Congress elections: national elections are indirect through a hierarchy of people's committees; head of government elected by the General People's Congress; election last held 2 March 2000 (next to be held NA) election results: NA |
| Exports | $5 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 1.34 million bbl/day NA bbl/day |
| Exports - commodities | crude oil 68%, textiles 7%, fruits and vegetables 6%, raw cotton 4% (1998 est.) | crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas |
| Exports - partners | Germany 27%, Italy 12%, France 10%, Turkey 10%, Saudi Arabia 7% (2000 est.) | Italy 37.9%, Germany 15.2%, Spain 8.7%, Turkey 6.3%, France 6.2%, US 5.2% (2005) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
| Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black, with two small green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; similar to the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band, and of Iraq, which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt, which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band | plain green; green is the traditional color of Islam (the state religion) |
| GDP | purchasing power parity - $54.2 billion (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 27%
industry: 23% services: 50% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 7.6%
industry: 49.9% services: 42.5% (2005 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $3,200 (2001 est.) | - |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2% (2001 est.) | 8.4% (2005 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 35 00 N, 38 00 E | 25 00 N, 17 00 E |
| Geography - note | there are 42 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights (February 2002 est.) | more than 90% of the country is desert or semidesert |
| Heliports | 7 (2002) | 2 (2006) |
| Highways | total: 41,451 km
paved: 9,575 km (including 877 km of expressways) unpaved: 31,876 km (1997) |
- |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | a transit point for opiates and hashish bound for regional and Western markets | - |
| Imports | $4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | 0 bbl/day NA bbl/day |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 21%, food and livestock 18%, metal and metal products 15%, chemicals and chemical products 10% (2000 est.) | machinery, transport equipment, semi-finished goods, food, consumer products |
| Imports - partners | Italy 9%, Germany 7%, France 5%, Lebanon 5%, China 4%, South Korea 4%, Turkey 4%, US 4% (2000 est.) | Italy 21.5%, Germany 10.4%, Tunisia 5.6%, Turkey 4.9%, UK 4.9%, France 4.8%, South Korea 4.7%, China 4.6% (2005) |
| Independence | 17 April 1946 (from League of Nations mandate under French administration) | 24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship) |
| Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
| Industries | petroleum, textiles, food processing, beverages, tobacco, phosphate rock mining | petroleum, iron and steel, food processing, textiles, handicrafts, cement |
| Infant mortality rate | 32.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 23.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 25.99 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.32 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 0.3% (2001 est.) | 3.4% (2005 est.) |
| International organization participation | AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNRWA, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | ABEDA, AfDB, AFESD, AMF, AMU, AU, CAEU, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
| Irrigated land | 12,130 sq km (1998 est.) | 4,700 sq km (2003) |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Constitutional Court (justices are appointed for four-year terms by the president); High Judicial Council; Court of Cassation; State Security Courts | Supreme Court |
| Labor force | 4.7 million (1998 est.) | 1.64 million (2005 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 40%, industry 20%, services 40% (1996 est.) | agriculture: 17%
industry: 23% services: 59% (2004 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 2,253 km
border countries: Iraq 605 km, Israel 76 km, Jordan 375 km, Lebanon 375 km, Turkey 822 km |
total: 4,348 km
border countries: Algeria 982 km, Chad 1,055 km, Egypt 1,115 km, Niger 354 km, Sudan 383 km, Tunisia 459 km |
| Land use | arable land: 25.96%
permanent crops: 4.08% other: 69.96% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 1.03%
permanent crops: 0.19% other: 98.78% (2005) |
| Languages | Arabic (official); Kurdish, Armenian, Aramaic, Circassian widely understood; French, English somewhat understood | Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities |
| Legal system | based on Islamic law and civil law system; special religious courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on Italian civil law system and Islamic law; separate religious courts; no constitutional provision for judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Legislative branch | unicameral People's Council or Majlis al-shaab (250 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 November-1 December 1998 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: percent of vote by party - NPF 67%, independents 33%; seats by party - NPF 167, independents 83; note - the constitution guarantees that the Ba'th Party (part of the NPF alliance) receives one-half of the seats |
unicameral General People's Congress (NA seats; members elected indirectly through a hierarchy of people's committees) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.08 years
male: 67.9 years female: 70.32 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 76.69 years
male: 74.46 years female: 79.02 years (2006 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 70.8% male: 85.7% female: 55.8% (1997 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 82.6% male: 92.4% female: 72% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Lebanon and Turkey | Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia |
| Map references | Middle East | Africa |
| Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 41 NM
territorial sea: 35 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
note: Gulf of Sidra closing line - 32 degrees, 30 minutes north |
| Merchant marine | total: 143 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 482,985 GRT/702,590 DWT
ships by type: bulk 12, cargo 126, livestock carrier 4, roll on/roll off 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Egypt 1, Greece 2, Italy 1, Lebanon 10 (2002 est.) |
total: 18 ships (1000 GRT or over) 86,034 GRT/89,820 DWT
by type: cargo 10, liquefied gas 3, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 2, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 4 (Kuwait 1, Norway 1, Turkey 2) (2006) |
| Military branches | Syrian Arab Army, Syrian Arab Navy, Syrian Arab Air Force (includes Air Defense Forces), Police and Security Force | Armed Peoples on Duty (APOD, Army), Libyan Arab Navy, Libyan Arab Air Force (LAAF) (2006) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $921 million (FY00 est.); note - based on official budget data that may understate actual spending | $1.3 billion (FY99) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 5.9% (FY98) | 3.9% (FY99) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,550,496 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,539,342 (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - military age | 19 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 200,859 (2002 est.) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 17 April (1946) | Revolution Day, 1 September (1969) |
| Nationality | noun: Syrian(s)
adjective: Syrian |
noun: Libyan(s)
adjective: Libyan |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms | hot, dry, dust-laden ghibli is a southern wind lasting one to four days in spring and fall; dust storms, sandstorms |
| Natural resources | petroleum, phosphates, chrome and manganese ores, asphalt, iron ore, rock salt, marble, gypsum, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, gypsum |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
| Pipelines | crude oil 1,304 km; petroleum products 515 km | condensate 882 km; gas 3,481 km; oil 6,916 km (2006) |
| Political parties and leaders | National Progressive Front or NPF (includes the Ba'th Party, ASU, Arab Socialist Party, Socialist Unionist Democratic Party, ASP, SCP) [President Bashar al-ASAD, chairman]; Arab Socialist Renaissance (Ba'th) Party (governing party) [President Bashar al-ASAD, secretary general]; Syrian Arab Socialist Party or ASP [Safwan KOUDSI]; Syrian Communist Party or SCP [Yusuf FAYSAL]; Syrian Social National Party [Jubran URAYJI] | none |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | conservative religious leaders; Muslim Brotherhood (operates in exile in Jordan and Yemen); non-Ba'th parties have little effective political influence | various Arab nationalist movements with almost negligible memberships may be functioning clandestinely, as well as some Islamic elements; an anti-QADHAFI Libyan exile movement exists, primarily based in London, but has little influence |
| Population | 17,155,814 (July 2002 est.)
note: in addition, about 40,000 people live in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights - 20,000 Arabs (18,000 Druze and 2,000 Alawites) and about 20,000 Israeli settlers (February 2003 est.) |
5,900,754
note: includes 166,510 non-nationals (July 2006 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 15%-25% | NA% |
| Population growth rate | 2.5% (2002 est.) | 2.3% (2006 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Baniyas, Jablah, Latakia, Tartus | - |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 2, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 16, FM 3, shortwave 3 (2002) |
| Radios | 4.15 million (1997) | - |
| Railways | total: 2,750 km
standard gauge: 2,423 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 327 km 1.050-m gauge note: rail link between Syria and Iraq replaced in 2000 (2001) |
0 km
note: Libya is working on seven lines totaling 2,757 km of 1.435-m gauge track; it hopes to have trains running by 2008 (2005) |
| Religions | Sunni Muslim 74%, Alawite, Druze, and other Muslim sects 16%, Christian (various sects) 10%, Jewish (tiny communities in Damascus, Al Qamishli, and Aleppo) | Sunni Muslim 97% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.94 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 1.05 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal and compulsory |
| Telephone system | general assessment: fair system currently undergoing significant improvement and digital upgrades, including fiber-optic technology
domestic: coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region); 1 submarine cable; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Turkey; participant in Medarabtel |
general assessment: telecommunications system is being modernized; mobile cellular telephone system became operational in 1996
domestic: microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations international: country code - 218; satellite earth stations - 4 Intelsat, NA Arabsat, and NA Intersputnik; submarine cables to France and Italy; microwave radio relay to Tunisia and Egypt; tropospheric scatter to Greece; participant in Medarabtel (1999) |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 1.313 million (1997) | 750,000 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 234,800 (2004) |
| Television broadcast stations | 44 (plus 17 repeaters) (1995) | 12 (plus one low-power repeater) (1999) |
| Terrain | primarily semiarid and desert plateau; narrow coastal plain; mountains in west | mostly barren, flat to undulating plains, plateaus, depressions |
| Total fertility rate | 3.84 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 20% (2000 est.) | 30% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | 870 km (minimal economic importance) | - |
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